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LAKE FOREST, Ill. Daniel Alfredsson Jersey . - The jabs kept coming from Lovie Smith, and all Lance Briggs wanted to do was prove his new coach wrong. A decade later, the seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker smiled as he looked back.It was 2004. Briggs was in his second year and Smith was in his first as Chicago Bears coach.He challenged me all the time, Briggs said. It was always, Lance, youre not gonna make that play or hell never make that play. Hed always talk to Brian (Urlacher). Hed talk to some of the other guys, like, Lance cant make that play.There was plenty of reflecting Wednesday as the Bears prepared to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Smiths first game against them since he was fired two years ago.Briggs recalled earning Smiths respect and the change in tone over the years. It went from those motivational shots to the coach expressing faith in his linebackers ability to make plays, to help shut down opponents.Briggs insisted Smith should be remembered as one of the great coaches of Chicago along with George Halas and Mike Ditka.But its not that simple.Smith guided the Bears to an 81-63 record during a nine-season run from 2004-12 that produced three playoff appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl. But his stubbornness at times was a source of frustration in Chicago. So were the struggles in the second halves in each of his final two seasons that kept the Bears out of the playoffs.While his defence consistently excelled, Smith could never solve the problems on offence.That, along with the playoff misses ultimately led to his downfall, with the Bears firing him after they missed the post-season despite winning 10 games in 2012.Theyre 12-14 under Marc Trestman, and at 4-6, they will likely miss the post-season for the seventh time in eight years. Smith, meanwhile, is trying to build a winner in Tampa Bay after a year out of the league.The Buccaneers are 2-8 but just two games off the NFC South lead heading into Sundays game. As much as Smith insisted hes simply another coach trying to win at Soldier Field, even he could not avoid reflecting just a little on his time in Chicago.He called coaching there a dream come true. He said he was proud of everything we were able to do.Only Halas and Ditka coached the Bears longer and won more games than Smith, who had never been a head coach. Before that, he was an assistant on Tony Dungys staff in Tampa Bay and defensive co-ordinator in St. Louis.Being my first head coaching job, all of my philosophies and things that I thought I believed in, I got a chance to see, he said. Every imaginable situation you can be in as a head football coach, I feel like I had a chance to be in there (in Chicago). Just about any game — coaching the Hall of Fame game to a Super Bowl. Besides winning a Super Bowl, I think as a coach I got a chance to witness and be a part of just about everything you could want to as a coach. So there were a lot of things that came around.Smith said he loved the organization. He mentioned the players and the lifetime memories, the lifetime relationships he forged with the Bears.He did not seem too concerned about fans reactions on Sunday.I dont need anything validated this week, he said. Fans were great to me and my family while we were there, administration was.Players remain loyal, too.Bears defensive tackle Stephen Paea appreciated Smiths honesty. He also remembered getting the call from the Bears when they drafted him in 2011. On the other end was Smith, and the coach had a question for him.First thing he told me — How does it feel to play by Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher? Paea said. I was like, Hell, yeah, Ill come to Chicago and play.Its gonna be an exciting game for us.NOTES: The Bears downplayed a players-only video session held last week. DE Jared Allen said defensive co-ordinator Mel Tucker approached him about holding one to give us an opportunity to take over as leaders and add some accountability to the defence. ... Briggs, RB Matt Forte and DT Jeremiah Ratliff sat out Wednesdays practice for non-injury reasons. DT Ego Ferguson (illness), WR Alshon Jeffery (hamstring), WR Brandon Marshall (ankle), DE Trevor Scott (knee), LB Darryl Sharpton (hamstring) and WR Chris Williams (hamstring) did not participate. OL Eben Britton (illness), RT Jordan Mills (ribs) and WR Josh Morgan (shoulder) were limited.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cody Ceci Jersey .Y. -- The "for sale" sign is up at the Buffalo Bills with the hiring of financial and legal advisers who may begin talking with prospective buyers within the next month. Chris Kelly Jersey . No, the San Antonio star didnt announce retirement plans during an off day at the NBA Finals on Wednesday. http://www.hockeysenatorsonline.us/bobby-ryan-hockey-jersey/ . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute.PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. -- Mitchell Moroz and Curtis Lazar helped the Edmonton Oil Kings stretch their win streak to seven on Wednesday. Moroz and Lazar scored two goals each as Edmonton topped the Prince Albert Raiders 7-5 in Western Hockey League action. That seven game win streak has the Oil Kings at the top of the WHLs Eastern Conference. Aaron Irving, Lane Bauer and Brett Pollock also scored for Edmonton (21-9-1), while Tristan Jarry made 24 saves for the win. Dakota Conroy had a pair of goals for Prince Albert (17-13-2), while Leon Draisaitl scored and added two assists. Gage Quinney and Tim Vanstone had goals as well. Cole Cheveldave stopped 18 of 23 shots. He was pulled after Morozs second goal, 43 seconds into the third period. Nick McBride turned aside four of five shots in relief. The Oil Kings could not score on their one power play, while the Raiders went 1 for 5 with the man advantage. --- ROCKETS 6 WARRIORS 3 MOOSE JAW, Sask. -- Myles Bell struck twice as Kelowna dispatched the Warriors. Ryan Olsen and Nick Merkley had a goal and an assist each for the Rockets (24-3-2), while Damon Severson and Carter Rigby both had singles. Jordon Cooke made 35 saves for the win. Scott Cooke, Ben Duperreault and Miles Warkentine did the scoring for Moose Jaw (8-20-6). Custom Ottawa Senators Jerseys. Justin Paulic stopped 32 shots. --- BLAZERS 4 PATS 3 (SO) REGINA -- Jesse Shynkaruk was the lone scorer in the shootout as Kamloops upset the Pats. Matt Needham struck twice and added an assist for the Blazers (7-21-4), while Cole Ully scored and had two assists. Taran Kozun made 39 saves. Boston Leier had a pair of goals for Regina (17-13-2) and Dryden Hunt also found the back of the net. Nick Schneider turned aside 28 shots. --- HITMEN 5 HURRICANES 3 LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -- Calder Brooks scored in the first and second periods as Calgary fended off the Hurricanes. Chase Lang, Brady Brassart and Jake Virtanen rounded out the attack for the Hitmen (19-7-5), while Mack Shields made 31 saves for the win. Josh Derko, Jamal Watson and Reid Duke replied for Lethbridge (5-25-4). Teagan Sacher stopped 28 of 32 shots. --- CHIEFS 5 SILVERTIPS 3 SPOKANE, Wash. -- Mitch Holmberg scored twice -- once into an empty net -- as the Chiefs beat Everett. Jeremy McIntosh, Mike Aviani and Dominic Zwerger also scored for Spokane (18-12-2), as Eric Williams made 34 saves. Jujhar Khaira, Tyler Sandhu and Carson Stadnyk supplied the offence for the Silvertips (21-6-4). Goalie Austin Lotz stopped 17 of 21 shots he faced. China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018 ' ' ' |
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